'354 Select Plants for Industrial Culture 



as wheat, furnishes a most wholesome well-flavored bread, 

 which keeps for many days, and is most extensively used in Middle 

 and Northern Europe and Asia. This cereal moreover can be reared 

 in poor soil and cold climates, where wheat will no longer thrive. In 

 produce of grain, rye is not inferior to wheat in colder countries, 

 while the yield of straw is larger, and the culture less exhaustive. 

 It is not readily subject to disease, and can be grown on some kinds 

 of peaty or sandy or moory ground. The sowing must not be effected 

 at a period of much wetness. Wide sand-tracts would be uninhabi- 

 table, if it were not for the ease of providing human sustenance from 

 this grateful corn. It dislikes moist ground. Sandy soil gives the 

 best grain. It is a very remarkable fact, that for ages in some tracts 

 of Europe rye has been prolifically cultivated from year to year 

 without interruption. In this respect rye stands favorably alone 

 among alimentary plants. It also furnishes in cold countries the 

 earliest green fodder, and the return is large. Dr. Sonder observed 

 in cultivated turf-heaths with much humus, that the spikelets pro- 

 duce three or even four fertile florets, and thus each spike will yield 

 as many as eighty beautiful seeds. Langethal recommends for argil- 

 laceous soils a mixture of early varieties of wheat and rye, the united 

 crops furnishing grain .for excellent bread. When the rye grains 

 get attacked by Cordyceps purpurea (Fries) or similar species of 

 fungs, it becomes dangerously unwholesome; but then also a very 

 important medicinal substance namely Ergot is obtained. The 

 biennial Wallachian variety of rye can be mown or depastured prior 

 to the season of its forming grain. In alpine regions Wallachian rye 

 is sown with pine-seeds, for shelter of the pine-seedlings in the first 

 year. Rye-grain is also extensively used for the distillation of gin. 

 Rye-straw serves as paper-material. 



Sechmm edule, Swartz. 



Central America. The Chocho or Chayota. The large starchy 

 root of this climber can be consumed as a culinary vegetable, while 

 the good-sized fruits are also edible. The fruit often germinates 

 before it drops. The plant bears even in the first year, and may 

 ripen one hundred fruits in a year. It comes to perfection in the 

 warmer parts of the temperate zone. 



Selinum anesorrhizum, F. v. Mueller. (Anesorrhiza Capensis, Ch. and Schl.) 



South-Africa. The root of this biennial herb is edible. A. nion- 



tana (Ecklon and Zeyher), a closely allied plant, yields likewise an 



edible root; and so it is with a few other species of the section 



Anesorrhiza. 



Selago leptostachya, E. Meyer. 



South-Africa. There an excellent bush for sheep-pastures in the 

 Karro-grounds, reproduced spontaneously with great readiness from 

 dropping seeds, and maintaining itself also by the running stems. It 

 is the " W^aterfinder" of the Orange-river regions, indicating generally 

 humidity beneath the ground (McOwan). 



